Anyone ever go back to school full time?

[Another Fan]

In the middle of their career that is.  It's an ongoing debate with me.  Curious if anyone had any success with it.  TY.  

[mead107]

Went back and did a redo of 12th grade for fun.  Lol

7 minutes ago, Another Fan said:

In the middle of their career that is.  It's an ongoing debate with me.  Curious if anyone had any success with it.  TY.  

Master?

[Johnny Hammersticks]

30 minutes ago, Another Fan said:

In the middle of their career that is.  It's an ongoing debate with me.  Curious if anyone had any success with it.  TY.  

 

I’m in the same boat.  I’m kind of stuck because I have about 175K invested in my education, and leaving my job would be nearly impossible because I have bills to pay and a family to feed, but I do have summers off (late June through late August).  I was thinking about chipping away at another degree or training program by taking summer courses.  

 

What are are you thinking about going back to school to study?  What are your new career/job goals?

 

 

 

 

[Another Fan]

15 minutes ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

 

I’m in the same boat.  I’m kind of stuck because I have about 175K invested in my education, and leaving my job would be nearly impossible because I have bills to pay and a family to feed, but I do have summers off (late June through late August).  I was thinking about chipping away at another degree or training program by taking summer courses.  

 

What are are you thinking about going back to school to study?  What are your new career/job goals?

 

 

 

 

Currently in the healthcare field.  Been at my job for 7 years.  Have applied for jobs that were considered advancement but wasn't even offered interviews.  Lol I could take a hint.

 

Would want to go back to school for Accounting.  Management Accounting maybe long term goal?

 

I was a critic of Marrone leaving here.  I guess I have that fear to a certain extent people will look at me the same way if I do leave.  

[BringBackFergy]

Take a look at the online courses for accounting/finance. Arizona State U and Southern NH U have great courses and you could take some courses without too much monetary investment. If you like it, keep going. Plus you could keep working without having to leave work and lose income. 

[mead107]

You could become a car salesman.  1 step above being a lawyer. Lol.  

 

Take it one one step at a time.  Like Fergy said take some on line courses. 

Figure what way you want to go before you start. 

Are you looking at getting a masters?   

Get some one to look over your resume.  

[mead107]

52 minutes ago, BringBackFergy said:

Take a look at the online courses for accounting/finance. Arizona State U and Southern NH U have great courses and you could take some courses without too much monetary investment. If you like it, keep going. Plus you could keep working without having to leave work and lose income. 

?

Edited November 29, 2017 by mead107

[Another Fan]

12 minutes ago, mead107 said:

You could become a car salesman.  1 step above being a lawyer. Lol.  

 

Take it one one step at a time.  Like Fergy said take some on line courses. 

Figure what way you want to go before you start. 

Are you looking at getting a masters?   

Get some one to look over your resume.  

Thanks, started taking some classes at night at the local community college so I got something of a start.

 

Its a matter of deciding to go back here full time to get an Associates in another field or as mentioned online university 

 

 

[mead107]

8 minutes ago, Another Fan said:

Thanks, started taking some classes at night at the local community college so I got something of a start.

 

Its a matter of deciding to go back here full time to get an Associates in another field or as mentioned online university 

 

 

What do you want to do ? Manager? 

What kind of jobs have you looked at? Health field? 

Something different? 

 you do your resume?  

Many do you think you didn’t get looked at on the jobs you applied. 

 

[Augie]

My son is a young CPA with a Masters in accounting. He can’t wait to get out. He’s prepping for the 1st exam in the CFA series. Having said all that, it’s a matter of finding what makes you happy. For some people that is the perfect work. I went from accounting to finance to marketing. Then I became a banker. My wife was a math major and now she’s a sales manager. Life’s a funny thing, but it gives you a chance to change course and find the right avenue.  As always, best wishes in finding the right path. 

[row_33]

Accounting is always good to fall back on when dreams of stardom fade

 

 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

I want to learn a trade.  Maybe plumbing or welding?  Everyone thinks I’m crazy.  My mother cried when I told her last week 

 

I have a doctoral degree in educational psychology.  Have a pretty good paying job, great benefits/retirement, and only work 185 days out of the year.

 

I’m not happy though.  Your job is supposed to make you happy, not miserable, amirite?

[WhoTom]

I didn't go full-time, but I spent 9 and 1/2 years working on my doctorate, one class per semester, while working full-time. (Seven years on coursework; the rest for dissertation.)

 

If you look at it as a whole, it seems overwhelming. If you take it a little at a time, and keep chipping away at it, you'll look back and be glad you did it.

 

 

[Wooderson]

I started my Master's about 7 years ago in Sport Administration after having completed my Bachelor's in Physical Education.  I was taking one class at a time and wasn't taking it seriously.  Then took 5 years off and here I am needing to finish it by August or I lose my certification.  I'm almost done with my three fall classes, then I have three classes in the spring and I'll be done.  I should mention the entire degree is online which I love. 

 

It's certainly difficult to get back into it, but you know what, I take the classes much more serious nowadays and I feel like I do a much better job than I would've even 5 years ago. 

[Gugny]

10 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

I want to learn a trade.  Maybe plumbing or welding?  Everyone thinks I’m crazy.  My mother cried when I told her last week 

 

I have a doctoral degree in educational psychology.  Have a pretty good paying job, great benefits/retirement, and only work 185 days out of the year.

 

I’m not happy though.  Your job is supposed to make you happy, not miserable, amirite?

 

It's funny you say this.  I was just having this conversation yesterday.  If I could push a rewind button and go back 30 years, I would have been a welder.

 

I've only got an Associate's Degree, but I've worked my way up over my career to where I'm making decent money - which I will never take for granted.

 

But happy?  Not even !@#$ing close.  If I didn't have familial responsibilities, when I lost my job four years ago I would have tried re-inventing myself by going to a trade school.

 

But I had/have to do what I'm experienced in (Ops Management) and I get almost zero satisfaction out of my job.  Mostly because of millennial !@#$s.

 

If you're capable of pursuing a different career that you are confident will make you happy ... DO IT. 

[shrader]

10 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

I want to learn a trade.  Maybe plumbing or welding?  Everyone thinks I’m crazy.  My mother cried when I told her last week 

 

I have a doctoral degree in educational psychology.  Have a pretty good paying job, great benefits/retirement, and only work 185 days out of the year.

 

I’m not happy though.  Your job is supposed to make you happy, not miserable, amirite?

 

I'd love to learn a trade, not even for career purposes, but just so that I could get more projects done on my own.

 

As for going back to school, we just made the last payment on the wife's college loans last week.  I guess that means she's due to start over now.

[PolishDave]

10 hours ago, Johnny Hammersticks said:

I want to learn a trade.  Maybe plumbing or welding?  Everyone thinks I’m crazy.  My mother cried when I told her last week 

 

I have a doctoral degree in educational psychology.  Have a pretty good paying job, great benefits/retirement, and only work 185 days out of the year.

 

I’m not happy though.  Your job is supposed to make you happy, not miserable, amirite?

 

Had a lot of friends go through this at some point in their late 30's early 40's where they started questioning if they should change their careers to be "happy".

 

My advice to you is this - be practical first and foremost.    You have a great paying job/career with excellent benefits that allows you to provide well for you and your family.

 

It would be utterly idiotic to risk that to change to something else that you aren't 100% sure is going to make you a lot happier - "happier enough" so to speak.

 

I think you should start looking for ways to find satisfaction in your current employment.   I bet there are ways you can improve on that.    You certainly have somewhat taken for granted the excellent position you are currently in compared to most of humanity.

 

And if you are still interested in pursuing a major career change, do it part time on weekends until you learn what the hell you are doing.

 

And pay down your debts and save a year's salary in cash so you can weather the hardships that will certainly befall you as you try to jump from your cruise ship to a smaller boat that is passing by at the moment.

 

Not one of my friends who "Stuck" with their existing job now regrets it - at least that is what they tell me.     Because now they are making even more money and even better at their existing jobs.   Which makes the work easier and a lot more palatable. 

[Johnny Hammersticks]

2 hours ago, Gugny said:

 

It's funny you say this.  I was just having this conversation yesterday.  If I could push a rewind button and go back 30 years, I would have been a welder.

 

I've only got an Associate's Degree, but I've worked my way up over my career to where I'm making decent money - which I will never take for granted.

 

But happy?  Not even !@#$ing close.  If I didn't have familial responsibilities, when I lost my job four years ago I would have tried re-inventing myself by going to a trade school.

 

But I had/have to do what I'm experienced in (Ops Management) and I get almost zero satisfaction out of my job.  Mostly because of millennial !@#$s.

 

If you're capable of pursuing a different career that you are confident will make you happy ... DO IT. 

 

When I graduated from HS my grandfather offered to pay for me to go to welding school, and also offered to pay for all of the equipment I needed.  I wanted to go to college because it was “the thing to do” and I wanted to party and get laid.  Which I did plenty of...

 

There isn’t a single day that goes by that I don’t regret/think about my grandfather’s offer.  Although, if I had chosen that path I never would have met my wife and had my kids.  Making crucial life decisions when you’re in your late teens-early twenties is very hard.

[row_33]

Going back after 20 years away let me find out how I lost all the "exam writing" muscles in my hands.

 

And now it's mostly on computer, which is way worse if one isn't used to test-situation thinking and word-padding in front of a computer...

 

The mind-screw of tests that push you harder and harder as you get more difficult questions correct are the most interesting.

Edited November 29, 2017 by row_33

[Johnny Hammersticks]

1 hour ago, PolishDave said:

 

Had a lot of friends go through this at some point in their late 30's early 40's where they started questioning if they should change their careers to be "happy".

 

My advice to you is this - be practical first and foremost.    You have a great paying job/career with excellent benefits that allows you to provide well for you and your family.

 

It would be utterly idiotic to risk that to change to something else that you aren't 100% sure is going to make you a lot happier - "happier enough" so to speak.

 

I think you should start looking for ways to find satisfaction in your current employment.   I bet there are ways you can improve on that.    You certainly have somewhat taken for granted the excellent position you are currently in compared to most of humanity.

 

And if you are still interested in pursuing a major career change, do it part time on weekends until you learn what the hell you are doing.

 

And pay down your debts and save a year's salary in cash so you can weather the hardships that will certainly befall you as you try to jump from your cruise ship to a smaller boat that is passing by at the moment.

 

Not one of my friends who "Stuck" with their existing job now regrets it - at least that is what they tell me.     Because now they are making even more money and even better at their existing jobs.   Which makes the work easier and a lot more palatable. 

 

This is good advice, and my better judgement tells me to stay put and make the best of it.  It would be so irresponsible at this point to make such a great change.  My family, and our lifestyle we have become accustomed to, would certainly be in jeopardy if I tried to dive head first into a new career.  I could, however, start by taking a few vocational courses over he summer to wet my beak.

 

Interestingly, this is my 11th year as an educational psychologist, and I didn’t start disliking my job until I moved to Vermont.  This state’s educational system is soooooo messed up.